General Electric Strategic Plan

This strategic plan will outline the necessary steps for General Electric to maintain its success in the global marketplace. The plan will contain General Electric's vision, mission, and values statements, an environmental analysis encompassing the internal and external environment, the organizations long-term objectives, financial projections, plan implementation and critical success factors. General Electric's strategic plan is designed to deter from regression and solicit growth.

Company Background General Electric (GE) was founded in 1892 and is based out of Fairfield, Connecticut. "General Electric Company operates as a technology, media, and financial services company worldwide" (Yahoo, 2008).

GE has different environment, or segments, that they provide goods and services for. The industrial environment, infrastructure segment, commercial finance industry, GE Money segment, GE Healthcare segment, and NBCUniversal are the major environments that GE operates in (Yahoo, 2008). These segments encompass different industries and address a large number of consumers from government to public, to major corporations.

Before outlining a strategic plan, it will be important to take a brief look at the segments in which GE has core business.

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"Its infrastructure segment produces jet engines, turboprop and turbo shaft engines, and related replacement parts for use in military and commercial aircraft; wind turbines; aircraft engine derivatives; gas and steam turbines, and generators; drilling and production systems, compressors, turbines, turbo expanders, and industrial power generation equipment; diesel-electric locomotives; and water treatment solutions for industrial and municipal water systems, their Commercial Finance segment provides loans, leases, and other financial services to manufacturers, distributors, and end-users for various equipment and capital assets.

GE also provides capital and investment solutions.

The GE Money segment offers credit cards, loans, mortgages, and deposit and savings products to consumers and retailers while GE's Healthcare segment manufactures equipment for magnetic resonance, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, nuclear, and X-ray imaging. The NBC Universal segment provides network television services; produces television programs and motion pictures; operates television stations; owns various cable/satellite television networks; and operates theme parks. GE's Industrial segment offers home appliances; lamp products; electrical distribution and control products; motors and control systems used in end-industrial and consumer products" (Yahoo, 2008).

Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

A key component of a strong strategic plan is the refinement and development of the organization's mission, vision, and value statements. General Electric does not have a specific in print mission statement; instead they have more of an operating philosophy that encompasses the organization's mission, vision and values. The values that GE holds dear are stated as "Imagine, solve, build and lead" (Man on a Mission, 2005).

These are four bold, strong verbs that articulates what it means to be part of the GE culture. The action-oriented nature of these words makes a profound statement about GE who they are. GE believes these values should serve to energize the organization, employees and the teams tasked with driving change and performance. According to GE, these are not just words but an expression of the GE culture, energy and spirit. GE even distributes "value cards" that identifies the values and actions expected of each employee. GE expects the actions of their employees to reflect these values, which are the core of GE's culture.

General Electric has consistently changed its mission, vision and values as its operating environments have changed therefore, the need to readdress the current mission, vision, and value statements is unnecessary. General Electric's proposed values are in direct alignment with the way leadersmanagers treat the internal and external stakeholders, the stakeholder's treatment of each other and its long and short term plans.

This is evident in the way that the organization conducts its operations and handles its treatment of employees and stakeholders. This fosters a strong working environment where communication and mutual respect among coworkers are driving factors to the success of the organization. General Electric's published values are also in alignment with its short and long-term plans. This is evident in the way GE continues to grow and lead innovation within the global marketplace. GE has developed the "ecomagination" concept that has outlined several short and long-term goals to reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment.

As General Electric changes with the global marketplace, it may become necessary to revisit the corporate mission, vision, and values to ensure that its corporate values are in alignment with the way it conducts its operations. GE must not say one thing and operate in an opposite manner. This would not build confidence in the organization or solicit future growth. Environmental Analysis Another key component in the development and implementation of an effective strategic plan is to perform an environmental analysis.

Several factors exist within an environmental analysis that GE can focus on. These include technical, social, economic, competitive and demographical. GE's multiple businesses across multiple industries make performing and organizational environmental analysis difficult. In a more ideal situation, each individual business would perform its own environmental analysis that would become compiled into an analysis of GE as a whole. For the sake of this strategic plan, it will be assumed that all business specific analyses have been completed.

Technical

In the energy/utility industry, technological forces and trends are important factors to identify and understand. This may include creative technological adaptations or technological breakthroughs. A competitive environment is distinguished by evolving technology that necessitates unrelenting development and extensive research. "Creative, technological adaptations can suggest possibilities for new products, for improvements in existing products, or in manufacturing and marketing techniques" (Pearce and Robinson, 2004).

The ability to notice trends early has provided the competitive edge for General Electric. Rising costs for energy, water, global warming and greening, trends bring concerns to General Electric. They realize issues regarding energy efficiency policies and emission standards need to be addressed. The world's energy market is changing. To meet the challenges, technology will pay a huge role for GE. Breakthroughs in renewable energy, fuel cells, nuclear energy and coal gasification will have a tremendous impact on the environment and GE customers.